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Circle Pansophical
After Atrebatia's greatest mages fought at the Battle of the Umbra Hills, they saw the incursion of demons and devils firsthand, and were rightly terrified that the spawn of the Gods could ever return to the world. Yurek Windkeeper, high enchanter of Ellesméra and a well-respected wizard, reached out to the realm’s most trusted and capable mages, and together they formed a private society called the Circle Pansophical, an idea inspired by the original Circle of Eight. The Circle Pansophical is formed largely to guard the realms of man. It's practical functions are now to attempt to regulate the practice of magic. Many less powerful mages fear and resent the Circle as a kind of extra-judicial magical secret police. Nonetheless, invitation to join the ranks of the Circle is considered a great honour and symbol of status. History The Circle Pansophical was founded in from the remnants of the Circle of Eight. The original circles purpose had been to act as neutral arbiters between the extremes of Good and Evil, Law and Chaos. Despite the organization's name, the original Circle of Eight actually had nine members, being composed of eight powerful wizards and their leader, Mordenkainen the archmage. For this reason, some sources call the group "Mordenkainen and the Circle of Eight." This Circle invented much of modern magic, and many of the newer spells that are known today. The original members of the Circle of Eight were: # Grandmage Mordenkainen # Archmage Bigby # Archmage Drawmij # Archmage Leomund # Archmage Nystul # Archmage Otto # Archmage Rary # Archmage Tenser # Archmage Otiluke Many of the original Circle of Eight was killed by Vecna and his lieutenant, Kas, but their legacy lives on in the Circle Pansophical. While inspired by and appearing to inherit the legacy of the Circle of Eight, the Circle Pansophical has in many ways the opposite purpose. The original Circle protected against moral absolutes and aimed to keep high magery and its destructive tendencies out of conflict, the Circle Pansophical instead claims instead to hold the absolute moral truth in the use of magic, upholding their doctrine "The Truth of Magic". The Circle Pansophical regulates mages beyond the laws of the land in accordance with a strict moral code, a practice that the Circle of Eight never undertook. Goals The chief priority of these powerful arcane specialists is to maintain the “Truth of Magic,” a strict code enacted to never again allow the rampant misuse of magic seen in the Age of Mystics. General members are referred to as “Arcanists,” while the higher circle of members who deal in judgment and oversight are called “Archmages.” At least one member is established at each place of arcane learning. Membership is largely kept secret unless out of necessity, though the existence of the order is relatively common knowledge. Anyone found to be practicing magic is logged and checked up on routinely, as misuse of magic is grounds for arrest, judgment by the Archmages, and punishment outside of the local law. Even so, their reach and oversight are not without limits, and many dark and terrible dealings manage to go unseen by the Circle Pansophical. The Truth of Magic The Pansophical’s myriad rules on the use and misuse of magic are detailed at length in centuries of amendments to the full text of the Truth of Magic. Though the Truth’s bizarre intricacies are known only to members, the Truth’s preamble establishes three unbreakable edicts: “In the eternal interest of the preservation of harmony within the realm of Exandria, we, the Arcana Pansophical, establish the Truth of Magic, and three edicts from which none shall stray. Those mages found in gross violation of the Truth will be punished by the full extent of this order—beyond the reach of any local law. # Though the study of Necromancy shall be restricted to none in the interest of magical understanding, the animation of the dead is a violation of the Truth. # The Arcane is a tool to be wielded for the good of the people. To use its power in the pursuit of wanton destruction or murder is a violation of the Truth. # Though the jurisdiction of the Pansophical supersedes the power of local laws, a mage who wilfully breaks the laws of the land is in violation of the Truth.”